Gobble, Gobble 2009

This year for Thanksgiving we went again to Cullman, AL to see our friends Wes and Chrysi. Wes's sister and brother-in-law live there and were gracious to welcome us to their home for the second year in a row. It is five start accommodations for sure and we would probably pay money to vacation there. It was a full house with 6 adults and 6 kids who ranged in age from 4 to 6 months.
Cullman was where we celebrated Carter's first Thanksgiving so it was only fitting that we where able to celebrate Jack's there as well. It was also another first in the turkey department. Last year was deep fried and this year was smoked; it was very good. We stayed through until Saturday and really enjoyed our time with our friends. You can see all the pictures here.

Jack (o-latern's) First Halloween

Halloween decorations in Lowe's and around our neighborhood provided Carter with endless amusement this year. He got so excited to see anything with a pumpkin face, ghost or witch; but forget about those scary scarecrows they were just too much for this guy. So having multiple Halloween apparel at our house made getting dressed this month fantastically exciting for Carter. And let's be honest, he has continued to wear his long-sleeved Halloween shirt from Gee well into November because the joy it brings him is way more important than a possible fashion faux pas.

As for Jack, he is just happy watching the chaos unfold around him. Despite Jack's serious demeanor in photos, he is constantly giggling at anything Carter does (great, more reinforcement for those quirky toddler behaviors that we mommies like to nip in the bud). The boys now "play" together and it is one of those precious mommy moments that I have been dreaming about since I got pregnant with Jack. It is in those blissful few minutes when neither child is aware that I am silently watching from around the corner that brings parenthood to a whole new level. So we tried to catch the "bliss" below with photos of the boys just being themselves.

Carter was Elmo and Jack was a chili pepper (in case the costumes left little to the imagination). The kids stayed in their costumes long enough to snap a few photos and walk to our neighbor's house. They did not go trick-or-treating simply because they are too young to understand the concept. The big kids carved the pumpkins and handed out candy from the front porch while drinking some beers. All in all, Halloween was low-key and purely fun. There's nothing like watching all the magic through your child's eyes.